


You Don’t Have to Go It Alone (Newsietober 2019 day 10)

by Freckles_From_Brooklyn



Series: Newsietober 2019 [1]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: All characters are based on Newsies Live, Crutchie helps him out, Fluff, Jack has trouble trusting people, M/M, Mostly Platonic, but there's romance if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 14:17:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20977283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckles_From_Brooklyn/pseuds/Freckles_From_Brooklyn
Summary: Jack has trouble trusting people. Crutchie helps him out. (prompt: Jack)





	You Don’t Have to Go It Alone (Newsietober 2019 day 10)

Jack Kelly was a lone wolf. After his ma had died and his pa had skipped town, he’d learned quite quickly that if you wanted to survive, you couldn’t be dependent on other folks. You couldn’t count on anyone but yourself. Even after he joined the newsies, he kept to himself. He was convinced that at any moment, everything could come crashing down, and he’d be living on the streets again. He just couldn’t bring himself to count on other people always being there. He sold alone, slept alone, ate alone. When he was taken to the refuge, he got out on his own. 

Then, somehow, he was made leader of the Manhattan newsies, and things changed. He still wasn’t dependent on other people, but other people were dependent on  _ him _ . There was Racetrack, a tall, lanky twelve year old who already had a gambling addiction, and his best friend, Albert. There was Buttons and Elmer, both working their tails off to provide for their large families. Romeo, the baby, was just eight years old, already orphaned and forced to grow up way too quickly. Then there was Crutchie, a thirteen-year-old with a twisted leg and the brightest smile Jack had ever seen. All of these kids needed him, and he couldn’t just leave them to figure it out on his own like he had. Slowly, the walls began to come down. Crutchie crawled into his bed after having a nightmare, and Jack held him as he sobbed. He soaked a group of guys who were threatening Race. He let Romeo sell with him so the tiny boy could learn the ropes. He gave whatever extra earnings he could spare to Buttons and Elmer. Still, he didn’t let anyone in until one night, when he was sitting up on the roof with Crutchie.

“Jack, why’re ya so closed off?” Crutchie asked, his head in Jack’s lap. 

“I ain’t closed off,” Jack replied.

“Yes ya are,” Crutchie said. “You’s always in ya room. Ya don’t eat or play cards with us or nothin’. Why?”

“Ya can’t depend on otha folks,” Jack told him. “All you can depend on is yaself.”

“That ain’t true!” Crutchie exclaimed. “You can count on us! We’s family, ain’t we?”

“Sure, kid, but it don’t work like that,” Jack said. 

“Like hell it don’t!” Crutchie shot back. “We’s a family, an’ families look afta each otha!” he grabbed Jack’s hand. “Jack, you don’t gotta go it alone anymore,” he said. “You can trust otha folks now. You can trust  _ us _ . Just give it a try? Please?” Jack looked down at that earnest face, with its dappling of freckles and sparkling green eyes, and smiled. 

“Alright, Crutch,” He replied. “I’ll give it a try. Fa you.” 


End file.
